'Cats find range, get wins over Fulton, HVA

The Wildcats have started to broaden their horizons and it couldn't come at a better time.

Robert Holder

The Wildcats have started to broaden their horizons and it couldn't come at a better time.

Oak Ridge hit eight 3-pointers to pull away from Fulton Saturday for their second win over the Falcons this year and cap a Friday-Saturday sweep by a score of 61-50.

Up just one in the second quarter, freshman Ted Mitchell got rolling — hitting a pair from beyond the arc on two trips. Xavier Maddox hit a third to extend the lead to 28-21 and Oak Ridge took a 32-25 lead into the half.

"Ted Mitchell was the difference between us being down seven or being up four or five," coach Aaron Green said. "(The Falcons) don't give you anything easy, so it's good to get out of here with another win."

Fulton made a run in the fourth with a pair of turnovers and scores to cut the lead to five, but another three — this time from Cory Fagan — coupled with some good ball-handling work by the Wildcats' guards in the final two minutes put the game away.

"(Fulton) isn't going to give you easy layups," coach Green said. "They're going to clog up the lane ... We have several guys who can shoot the ball. I have confidence in them.

"A lot of times you see the end result with the shot but how you get to that shot — somebody drove, drew two guys, got an offensive rebound and made an extra pass — those are good things to see."

Rian Hall and Jaylin Henderson went a perfect 6-of-6 shooting at the line in the final minute of play for Oak Ridge (14-3) and led the team with 17 and 12 points, respectively.

"We've spend some time on end of game situations," Green said. "It wasn't perfect, but we didn't turn it over and we went to the foul line and made our free throws. That is game experience that will help you down the road in tight games."

Micah Goss led the Falcons (10-5) with 13 points.

Oak Ridge now turns to Tuesday's game as they travel to Halls for a matchup of teams vying for second place in District 3-AAA.

Halls, led by Stedson Moore with 27 points, lost to Powell 51-54 on Friday. The Wildcats and Red Devils have just one loss in district play so far this season.

"Our district is really tough," Green said. "Us, Powell, Halls and Karns are probably four of the best in the area. (Stetson) Moore has had at least two games where he has scored over 40. It is going to be a unique preparation."

Friday Oak Ridge 72, Hardin Valley 46

Oak Ridge led 36-20 at halftime and coasted behind a 14-3 run to start the third quarter for their first win back at Wildcat Arena since Dec. 4.

Jaylin Henderson had 20 points and Rian Hall had 19, including 10 in the first quarter, to clip the Hawks.

Isaac Merian had eight while Xavier Maddox and Cory Fagan had seven apiece.

Hardin Valley (5-10, 2-3 in 3-AAA) post player Zak Carter had 21, 14 of which came in the first half, as he hit from inside the lane and outside the arc for the Hawks.